DETROIT (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 33 points and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics won their eighth straight game, beating the short-handed Detroit Pistons 129-102 on Friday night.
“It’s an honor to coach Jaylen when he plays like that,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He handles every possession on both ends of the floor and he gets the shots he wants, both for himself and his teammates. He plays very complete basketball and it’s fun to watch.
Boston improved to 56-15 – a winning percentage of .800. Detroit is tied with Washington at the bottom of the league at 12-58 – 44 games behind the Celtics.
Peyton Pritchard added 20 points and Derrick White added 19 points and 11 assists. Jayson Tatum sat out against Detroit to rest an ankle for the second time in five days, also missing a 119-94 home victory Monday night.
Brown was 13 of 19 from the floor, including 10 of 11 on 2-point shots.
“I just wanted to be aggressive, because we had a few guys out,” he said. “When (Tatum) is not there, I know I have to play a little faster.”
The Celtics were embarking on a six-game season-long road trip.
“It’s the same challenge you face on any trip: to continue to play at a high level and keep the main thing the main thing,” Mazzulla said.
James Wiseman scored a Detroit-high 24 points and Jaden Ivey had 16. The Pistons have lost nine in a row to Boston.
“Statistics and everything else really don’t matter to me, because I want to win,” said Wiseman, who started for the first time this season. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season, but there are still things we can improve on over time.”
The Pistons were missing their top five post players, Jalen Duren (back), Stanley Umude (ankle), Simone Fontecchio (toe), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness). That left them with a starting backcourt consisting of Tosan Evboumwan, Troy Brown Jr. and Wiseman.
“I can never use (talent level) as an excuse,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “We showed in the first quarter and a little bit in the third that we could compete. We just had two tough quarters – 19 in the second and 19 in the fourth.
Tied at 43 in the second period, Boston took over in a stretch that included parts of the second and third quarters. The Celtics went on a 47-21 run to take a 90-64 lead with 6:10 left in the third.
Brown finished with 17 points in the third to help Boston take a 104-83 lead. Mazzulla emptied the bench in the fourth.
FOLLOWING
Celtics: At Chicago Saturday night.
Pistons: Host New Orleans on Sunday.
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